Voit Goes Deep, Judge Goes Deeper Before Exiting in the 6th on Yanks 9-6 Win – The New York Extra/TheNYExtra.com

By Lenn Robbin s

Luke Voit might need to do some serious rewriting after the season. Voit wrote a children’s book aptly entitled, “Luke’s Baseball Story,” that was published before the start of the season. It recounts his journey to the Major Leagues. The plan was for Voit to visit elementary schools in the Bronx and read the book with students.

The coronavirus nixed those plans. With the season Voit and the Yankees are having, he might have to rewrite.

Voit blasted a three-run homer into the empty leftfield bleachers in the bottom of the first to lead the Yankees to a 9-6 win over the Atlanta Braves in the Bronx. Voit went 1-for-3 with a walk, a run scored and three RBI. With Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring) out for about a month and Gary Sanchez still struggling, the Yankees need another bat to get hot and Voit just might be the guy.

Voit smacked 21 doubles, 21 home runs and knocked in 62 RBI in just 118 games in his breakout season of 2019. His early blast took all the drama out of the game until the sixth inning after Aaron Judge crushed his ninth home run of the season in the fifth. Judge’s blast left the field at 113.1 mph and dented the Toyota advertisement.

Mike Tauchman pinch hit for Judge the next inning lighting up social media with concerns that Judge was injured. Manager Aaron Boone opted to pull Judge after playing four straight games in Tampa on turf. The Yankees led 8-0 before the Braves scored.

“The big thing with going to those schools is putting a face and a person, and trying to give the kids someone to look up to, someone they’ve actually met,” Voit told reporters in April. “I remember when I was little, I met a famous athlete or person and it was huge. I remember meeting Al MacInnis, who was a Blues player, at Costco when I was like 12. That was cool. I always remember that.”

How’s this for cool? The Yankees (11-6) have now homered in 13 straight home games. They are undefeated in their last 25 home series (22-0-3) dating back to April of 2019, tying the franchise record set in 1997-98.

 Voit could help extend all those streaks. That might make him a best seller.